Falling Dusk
by daggerminx
Summary: This is the story of a new vampire the Cullens meet roughly a year after Breaking Dawn.Falling Dusk Includes most of the main Twilight Characters in addition to the newcomers. I'm new to this so please review if you have the time. Thank you for reading!
1. Chapter 1

**Falling Dusk**

_**~~~Prologue~~~**_

Edward's head whipped around. A second later his companions followed suit.

"Our kind," Carlisle said tensely.

"That's not all," Esme worried.

They all listened to the distant battle. It became very quiet.

"Come on!" Bella urged and started toward the site. The rest of the Cullens leapt into action. They were nearing the scene when Alice stopped and Edward cringed.

"Wait," Alice cried.

"There's not much time!" Carlisle disagreed.

"If we save her, we'll be calling the Vulturi down on our heads."

"What?"

"It's unclear, but based on what I see; she's going to have a gift that Aro would die for. Something he craves more than mine."

That sobered them. But Carlisle could not see another being die in his capability to save.

"I will not ask you to join me," he promised, "But I will not see her die."

Without hesitation, all of the Cullens descended on the other vampire. The fight was brief; he fled in the face of such a threat. Emmet carried the girl back with them through her transformation. Most of the family rejoiced in her life—or at least accepted the fact—but Alice and Edward were plagued by the solidifying vision.

_**Chapter 1**_

**Gift**

I had never expected death to be so excruciating! All my life I had believed that death was the release, the reward for a life well lived. I felt I had been a good person, I had done my part! And yet, I'd been sent to Hell, there was no other explanation. I wondered what kind of misconception I'd been taught. No merciful diety could do this to a person who'd tried as hard as I had.

Then I saw my true self. All of the things I hadn't done, all of the things I shouldn't have done. I realized I deserved this. No just being could possibly grant me bliss in return for what I'd done. At that point, I accepted my fate and resigned myself to the eternal burning. What a fool I'd been. I hoped those who'd listened to my words all across the nation had believed them.

My adult life had been spent pursuing the betterment of my community. I spoke in middle and high schools nation wide on the subject of becoming what ever they wanted to be, and doing it the right way. I'd been told by many college professors that I had an uncanny ability to persuade. For that reason I'd stopped at 21 with my bachelor's degree and tried for speech. That panned out pretty nicely, until one fall hiking trip when, at a very young 23 years old, I was viciously murdered and sent to damnation.

And then I woke up. It looked like a hospital, with eight faces staring down at me. Eight very distinct faces. Distinct faces that just happened to be absolutely perfect.

Finally, through many extensive comparisons and a look in the mirror, the Cullens convinced me of the truth. I was a vampire. It was at this point that Carlisle suggested we move to the living room and discuss his family's unique habits.

"Because we value human life, and we believe in making the best of our existence, we do not um…indulge. Instead we feed on the blood of animals. It is our choice, and we would love for you to accept this as your own philosophy, however we do realize that it is difficult and uninviting to some," Carlisle finished his long explanation.

"I agree with that," I said, "I taught children to be the very best of themselves, I would be a hypocrite if I didn't join you." I smiled around. The most glorious thing about my new being was the space in my mind and its perfect organization. I reached back to the place where my thirst itched and simply made a switch. An easy explanation is that I "re-programmed" my thirst to target animals.

Edward's face contorted, "How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

Now he spoke to his family, "She just changed her thirst. Literally _shut it off!!!_ I can see her entire mind, and there's no human drive."

"What's wrong?" I asked the stunned group, "Haven't you guys ever heard of mind over matter?" There was no change in their faces.

Bella leaned in closer, "Look at her eyes!!"

They all seemed to convulse and shrink back. Alice passed me a hand mirror. It was scary. My scarlet eyes were changing color. A rich butterscotch color, originating at my pupils, was slowly spreading through the rest of the irises.

"Whoa."

Alice and Edward exchanged a secret glance they thought I didn't catch. It didn't look like a good thing. Carlisle was looking skeptical.

"Rylee, I need you to tell me what you just did."

"But I'm telling you the truth Carlisle! I just changed my mind. It isn't that difficult. Really!"

Carlisle sighed, "I've never seen this before, but it seems she's telling the truth. I suppose it isn't completely impossible, what with Alice's vision."

Edward's neck snapped around and he glared at me, "What was that?!"

I jumped at the ferocity in his tone, but instantly retaliated. Instinct took over and I tensed for attack, "What was what?"

Edward didn't take his eyes off me, "She's controlling your mind Carlisle."

"What?"

He sneered, "Don't think now that you've released him I'll forget what I heard."

"And what was that?" I dared.

"Carlisle's thoughts, but in your voice. Don't deny it."

I began to wonder if he was right. To check I simply visited what could be termed the "index of abilities" found in my mind. Sure enough, mind control was listed. Much like gleaning information from a computer, I learned about my ability.

"It's true!" I whispered in shocked horror.

"Tell us," Carlisle demanded.

I began in human life, "When I lived before, I had great control over myself. Mind over matter to the max. And when I got older, and learned how to speak intelligently, I learned I also had the ability to convince others to see things my way. That has just been extended. I have complete and total control over every detail of my mind, which I assume is even more than you all have. But that's just a side benefit. My true power is to control the mind, any mind. To 'compel' them to see things my way, so when they start to act it seems as though it is truly them. Basically, they're not zombies, they just…see things my way."

"Try to take control of Bella," Rosalie suggested.

"Okay. Bella, state your view on something."

"Umm…I don't really like the idea that my best friend is planning to marry my daughter."

We'd already discussed this. I did actually disagree, according to her retelling, it seemed like the only thing that wouldn't tear them all apart. Figuring out how to extend myself to her mind was a difficult thing. It was an abstract concept. I basically opened my mind to her and "pushed off" that particular opinion. I thought I should feel some sort of link to her—thinking back on Carlisle it had felt something like that—but there was nothing. In fact, I could almost feel my attempt rebound upon my own conscious.

"It doesn't work," I concluded. Edward looked very relieved.

Alice looked pained, "I was right." Her words brought a grim expression to all of the faces save my own.

"About what?" But they wouldn't tell me.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

**Devil**

"No I think you're right, maybe simpler would be better for this party. I mean, lavishness can only be appreciated if the beauty is rare right?" Alice said, continuing a conversation about an upcoming Christmas party.

"Stop it!!" Edward snapped at me. I jumped, then immediately felt around in my mind for the invasion. Sure enough, like telephone wires, I found strands of my own thoughts connecting me to Alice. It made me sick. I was some kind of freak show like never before. Sometimes, especially where mind control was concerned, my brain could go ahead and do something without my conscious permission.

"I'm sorry Alice," I mumbled, looking at the ground.

"That's all right Rylee, I understand," she comforted me in her sweet way. "Edward," she chided, "Don't be so rude all the time. Would it kill you to _gently_ inform her? You know she doesn't mean to do it."

I didn't give Edward a chance to answer, "No he's right!" My head snapped up now, and my mind reached toward Alice. I shoved the impulse back forcefully. She had to be in her right mind, I had to make her understand. "Alice, your family is held together by a common desire: you don't want to be monsters. Being vampires makes that an eternal battle we all must fight. But you have gifts. And not one of you has learned how to abandon your gift entirely. You have to understand, being a vampire doesn't have to be inherently monstrous, because we can feed on the animals that humans eat anyway. But being able to bend a living person's will like a mindless puppet _is_ inherently evil. And I can't control it!"

"You'll learn. It will take practice. That's why it's so great we have Edward."

I hung my head once more and said very softly and slowly, "I would rather burn in hell for eternity than accidentally take someone's free will."

Either Edward or Alice thought I was in enough despair to call in reinforcements. I don't know which one, but someone told Carlisle that I was in desperate need of counseling. The day after the "I'd rather burn in hell" incident, Carlisle asked me into his office.

Having a fairly good idea of what this would be about; I sat in the leather chair in front of his desk and refused to look over the mahogany at that angel face. I'd never had a father. I'd grown up in foster homes…quite a few foster homes. I'd been a bit of a nuisance to parents. The grown ups in my life had been unnerved by the fact that if I really wanted something, they always ended up giving it to me, even when they would have denied such a request from any other child. They called it extreme manipulation. But this new "gift" of mine suggested they may have been a bit off.

But Carlisle was different. I would do anything in the world for that man, and do it with a huge grin. He was the epitome of a father…or what I thought a father should be. He was kind, wise, full of love, and commanded all my respect.

"Rylee," he said quietly. I resignedly turned my face toward him.

"Your brothers and sisters are worried about you." I nodded. "Would you like to talk about whatever it is?" As though he didn't know. But he would let me tell him everything, and get the full relief.

I briefly considered telling him I didn't want to talk about it, but, as it had been with Alice, I felt like I had to make him understand. "Carlisle, you love life. Imagine if you received the power to kill people during you transformation, and you couldn't control it. What would it do to you? Each time a person fell dead at your feet by some subconscious action, how long could you stand it?" His face grew lined at this comparison, finally grasping the depth of my pain. "That's me Carlisle. I love choice. I love opinions. I love the power of the will over the body. And my vampiric power is to steal that from another. And to top it all off, it's a power I haven't yet learned to control!" If vampires could cry, I would have been sobbing by now, and from the look on Carlisle face, so would he. I leaned forward, desperate that he understand the full meaning of my next sentence. "I am my own devil, Carlisle. I am a demon from the underworld sent to torture _myself_!" We stared at each other for a long moment. His eyes were brimming with sympathy and unconditional love, mine with unfathomable anguish.

"Why can't you control it?" he finally asked in a very quiet voice.

"I don't know when it's happening! I mean, I can find the connection once Edward tells me it's there, but otherwise…I just don't recognize that I'm doing it."

"Control me, right now."

"No!"

"Yes. Take control of me here, where we're both safe. I believe the more familiar you are to the 'connections', as you call them, the better you'll be able to realize when they form."

The idea made sense, and I trusted him, so I nodded. He knew that I had the power to control minds. I decided that she couldn't control minds. The vapors of my power reached out, and I allowed them to extend to Carlisle.

His eyebrows furrowed, and he appeared to be considering something, finally he said tentatively, "Rylee, maybe you don't have the power of mind control." It nearly killed me to know that I was controlling him, making him a clone of my own mind, but I was determined to become familiar to the evidences of my gift. I blinked as though holding back tears. Carlisle eyes became tender and compassionate, "Rylee, can't you see? You're trying, but you don't have the ability to control me. It's going to be all right. You can let it all go. There's just you, no devil."

I bit my lip. Edward was running toward the house. He thundered up the stairs as though legions of the Volturi were chasing him.

"CARLISLE!" he shouted at the top of his voice when he reached the office. Though I had expected such an outburst, I automatically recoiled, taking the connection with me. I was almost relieved to have been so forcefully interrupted.

"Yes?" Carlisle said, a bit of reproach in his tone.

"She was controlling you! She was making you believe she was harmless, and couldn't really control minds," he spat the words like poison. It struck me then how suspicious that sounded. I was making myself look like a spy or some other kind of villain. But could they truly believe that? I hadn't left their presence during my entire Vampire existence.

"I know she was Edward. I asked her to." Hearing the Doctor's thoughts, and thereby knowing that he was in his right mind, Edward softened his accusing glare. "I do not think," Carlisle continued, "She is an enemy Edward." I knew he didn't have to say the words out loud. He did that for my benefit.

"Isn't it dangerous to let her get familiar with such a power?" Edward glanced my way apologetically, but in my thoughts I was agreeing with him.

"Not at all," Carlisle corrected, "The most dangerous and irresponsible thing we could do with such a talent is to leave it alone. It won't go away, and as it now stands, if she's not with you, she may go on controlling people left and right. No one wants that."

Edward nodded, seeing as always that Carlisle was right. He turned to me, "I'm sorry Rylee."

"Please," I responded, "Please don't ever be sorry for protecting your family."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

**Newcomer**

Whiling away the endless hours at the Cullens was just about the only way to stand this life. There was always something interesting going on there. Once, Alice dared give me a makeover. She curled my auburn hair and took all of my Kermit the Frog shirts away. Instead I was obliged to walk the runway in a tight red leather jacket and tan flares. She completed the ensemble with a pair of sexy sunglasses and even a Harley!

The motorcycle became my favorite toy. Of course it was impractical, since I couldn't go far in it without a muggy helmet and restrictive gloves to hide my skin, but I loved to visit surrounding territories. There was nothing like it. I couldn't see anyone through the tinted windows, so I didn't concern myself with making sure I didn't take over some poor soul's will inadvertently.

These excursions were also ample time to reflect. I was a member of a family, a new way of life for me. But each member of this new family had something I didn't. They all had partners, lovers, people with whom they would assuredly spend the rest of eternity. Even the child, Renesme, had Jacob just awaiting her maturity. I knew I needed someone like that; I knew I would never be complete—and never truly belong with the Cullens—without someone closer than my own skin upon whom I could depend. I also knew, however, that wholesome vampire men were few and far between, and at the moment, pretty much claimed by the Cullen women.

One luxuriously overcast day I sat with Esme on the wrap around porch. She made herself comfortable on one of the sofas and I perched near the edge, swinging my legs over the side and putting in one of my ipod headphones. Emmet and Jasper were having it out. What the argument had been I don't know. They probably staged one to set up an excuse for an all day battle. This too, was one of my favorite pastimes. I didn't really feel the need to fight, and I doubted anyone would teach me for fear I'd slip up and get in their head. But watching the action and understanding the strategies was thrilling for me.

Esme chuckled behind me when Jasper snuck in for a debilitating move and Emmett immediately called a rematch. "Oh Emmett," she sighed, more to herself than anything, "You'll never settle will you?"

I turned around to see her lovingly shaking her head. "Oh, I don't know," I defended him, "I always told kids never to settle."

In her sweet way, Esme disagreed, "Haven't you ever heard the term 'pick your battles' Rylee? Sometimes it's best to settle for something less than you hoped, especially if that includes keeping something more important."

I could feel, like tendrils of smoke, the fabric of my "gift" reaching out toward Esme. I firmly blocked the impulse. Talking was no fun anymore; I had to concentrate on not being a parasite.

"But there are some things you shouldn't settle for," I persisted.

Esme nodded and was about to agree, but Carlisle walked around the corner saying, "Like a man. Don't ever settle for a man." He sat beside Esme and put an arm around her shoulders.

I tried to be light about my status, "No danger there."

Carlisle and Esme exchanged a helpless look and I turned back to the fight. We all knew that chances of me finding someone who was okay with my power were slim to none. We also knew the odds of me finding someone I wouldn't be worried about slipping up and controlling were stacked against me.

Alice skipped around the porch to join me at the edge, "So is he here yet?"

"Who?" I asked, thinking perhaps she meant Jacob.

"Nicholas. There's one of us traveling east and if he's not here by now, he will be within the hour."

Carlisle's face was an equal blend of excitement and worry. While meeting new vampires always meant learning something new, others did not exactly agree with the vegetarian way of life.

Sure enough about a half hour passed and we could see a figure coming toward us.

Nicholas was blond, his hair cut in a classic shag. Rylee imagined him with a suntan on a California beach.

"Hey," he said, wandering into the yard with his hands shoved in his pockets. The sight of so many vampires obviously scared him, but he was trying to act nonchalant. Edward came out of the trees with Renesme, staring hard at Nicholas.

"Hello," Carlisle said, rising to go and shake his hand, "I'm Carlisle." He turned and pointed to each of his family members in turn, stating their names.

"I'm Nick."

"Can we help you in some way?"

"Yeah, do you know how to find the Volturi?"

"Break the law," Rosalie quipped, lounging in the doorway, "Or at least look like you're breaking it."

"Or have a power they want really badly," Bella added.

"Why do you seek them?" Carlisle asked, politely ignoring the other comments. We

all sauntered closer to hear the story.

"Well, I've been one of us for about ten years and I've just been so _bored_ you know? I didn't feel like I was living for any reason besides keeping the human population in check. A few months ago this guy I ran into told me about the Volturi. He said they were like the government, and if I was something they wanted, I could join them. It sounds better than just existing forever, you know? I'll actually be doing something."

"That's true, the Volturi are a type of government," Carlisle spoke slowly, considering his words carefully, "But they use a mask. They're not all good. They have an addiction to power, and an irrational fear of losing what power they possess. Unfortunately, vampire society does need a government, but the government we allow ourselves to live under is a corrupt one. If you'd like, we can show you our way of life."

"What's different about you guys? Besides the fact that you live in a house and there are _tons_ of you?"

"We only feed on the blood of animals," Carlisle jumped right in and explained how their peculiar way of life enabled them to coexist with humans and lead a full, satisfying life, unlike the solitary existences of most vampires.

"Are you kidding? You eat animals?" Everyone nodded, "I think I'll stick with the Volturi. So where are they?"

"Really," pleaded Edward, glancing nervously at me, "They're not what they pretend to be. You're safer with us."

"Seriously guys, I'm not eating an animal, that's disgusting. I was wondering though, what should I use to get in? Cause they won't take just anyone."

"Well, do you have a power?" Rosalie was looking at her nails.

"Huh?"

"Like, the Volturi want Edward because he can read minds, and Alice because she can see the future, and Bella because she's a shield. Jasper can control emotions. Anything like that?" She'd conveniently left me out.

"And Rylee has the power of mind control," Renesme piped up. The Cullens froze.

Nick stared at me, "Really?"

I glanced at Carlisle, who nodded. "Yes," I admitted, "I can control the mind."

"That's awesome! Man, I can't do anything like that stuff." He glanced at me, sizing me up as though I were competition. "Prove it," he said to me.

"No!"

"Come on, just show me."

"Trust me," I argued emphatically, "You don't want to see."

"Whatever, I gotta go," he waved a hand and turned away.

"Rylee!!" Edward whispered. I jumped. How had I forgotten so easily what it felt like? Quickly I retracted the threads, but Edward's whisper hadn't been very subtle.

"You just did it didn't you? Dude! I totally just couldn't think of any reason for you to show me. That was awesome! I never would have known…" His expression changed, "You wouldn't want to come with me would you? I'm sure the Volturi would let _us_ in." His tone and eyes indicated the invitation might mean more than simply traveling together.

"I don't think so."

"Are you sure?"

"The Volturi are not what you think. If you have to learn that the hard way, go ahead, but I believe some things don't need to be experienced. I have everything I require to be completely content. Why don't you join us? We have a family here, something the Volturi will never be." I noticed Carlisle's posture and smile; he was proud of me. Nick appeared to genuinely consider my invitation; I was a persuasive speaker.

But he answered, "No thanks. I've got to get going. So you guys don't know where they are?"

"They're in Italy," Alice sighed, "It shouldn't be too difficult to track them down."

Nick nodded, took one last appraising look at me, thanked us, and disappeared into the trees. Alice watched him for a minute, then her eyes clouded over. Japer was watching her intently, his tense eyes flickering occasionally to me. The entire family exhibited the same behavior.

I remembered clearly the day I'd discovered my power and explained it to the family. Alice had said, with a very pained expression, that she'd been right about something. That one sentence had sobered the family considerably, but hey hadn't told me what she meant. I had a feeling I was about to find out.


End file.
